One of the questions that we have been most asked was
about the girls. The fact of the matter is, there were none. We always bragged
about the fact that Bride had no female groupies. We never had screaming girls
waiting outside of hotel rooms or trying to get backstage. I think maybe we were
just too scary, and I always tried to appear really sure of myself.

However, there were the male groupies. These were young
boys who were aspiring musicians. Most of them were skinhead-looking and could
have fit into any punk band from the 70's. We did not mind answering all the
questions about life as a musician, but we did disappoint a lot of them when we
told them we made very little money and were not chauffeured around in
limousines. I tried to be honest with our fans and let them know that we were
not rock stars, and any one involved in playing music for the Lord ought not
consider themselves stars. Our work should be completely dedicated to the Lord,
and He should receive the praise for what He does through us.

1994

The year had started slow but full of fireworks. The
band was financially busted, and Troy was out of money. The band had been
borrowing money from him for a long time in order to stay stocked on
merchandise. His new house was almost completed and he was over budget, and now
the band looked at me and what little money I had saved to get us through the
next month.

We had a Germany tour and nine shows planned in 10 days
for March. We had to keep our bills paid until then, and we were sure that we
could get back to our feet. Rik had called me in early February a couple days
before Valentine's Day needing 300 dollars for an overdue apartment bill. Since
we had so much bad weather we had not been able to rehearse for almost three
weeks, so I had no idea that Rik and Jerry were pinching pennies to get by. We
had such a great year in '93, and now it felt like we were having to start all
over again. We knew we could ride out the storm, but would we be the same band
after all this sudden chaos that had erupted? I was sure the Germany tour would
bounce us back or destroy us.

Germany Again

We were scheduled to leave Louisville March 16th. I was
not looking forward to another overseas trip, but I knew we needed to return to
Europe. We had many dedicated fans in Germany, and the bulk of our touring would
concentrate there. March 14th, two days before we were to leave, I got some
disturbing, yet relieving news from Jerry. I could tell by the tone of his voice
that something terrible must have happened. He said, "Dale, are you sitting
down?" I said, "I can take whatever your about to tell me standing, I think." He
said, "Rik is not coming back from Europe. He is leaving the band."

It was not the news I had expected to hear, and I knew
Jerry was taking this much harder than I. Jerry had always felt as though Rik
was a friend and considered him a partner in music. I knew better; I knew Rik as
a loner and somewhat self-indulgent. I told Jerry not to worry. "I would find a
replacement." I immediately called Steve Curtsinger, who was the bass player for
a band called Killed by Cain.

I had produced a record for this band about a year
earlier on the R.E.X. label. Steve was a good Christian friend and a good bass
player. He was not nearly as tall or as intimidating from the stage as Rik, but
he could do the job. Steve said he had been praying that I would call because
Killed by Cain had pretty much bit the dust. He came the following morning and
picked up a cassette tape of the tunes we were doing live, and a video of our
live performance in Brazil to in order to learn the songs. He said, "don't
worry, Dale. I will know them by the time you guys return from your tour."

My biggest disappointment from all this was that, much
like Steve Osborne (who left the band many years ago), Rik could not face me and
tell me himself. He had to use Jerry. Rik had used Jerry many times to convey
unpleasant messages to me. I never could understand why Jerry put up with him.
All along Jerry's real friends were Troy and I, but he was hesitant for some
reason to be pals with us. He kept things pretty much on a professional level
with us and had trusted Rik. I feel closer to Jerry today, years after he left
the band, than I did while he was with us.

Rik had a very likeable character, and his personality
was pleasant on most days. He was one of those people who got more attention
than he wanted, so he lived to himself most of the time. None of us knew what he
was going to do away from the band, but we all had a gut feeling that after this
tour we probably would never see him again. I felt bad for Jerry because he
considered Rik a pal, and now I was sure that he felt betrayed. I had wanted Rik
to leave on his own for quite some time because I knew he had a hard time
getting his life organized, and I figured, after all this time he had been a
part of the band, that he would be much closer to finding himself. I had always
been there for Rik in the few times he had confided in me, but it was usually
after I saw a problem and approached him about it. This time he was on his own.

"As far as I was concerned, he was on his own." I had
way too many things to concentrate on rather than trying to fish Rik back in. At
this time, Vince, our only road hand, had not said if he was leaving or staying.
I had always felt that his loyalty was to Rik, and that he had just done minor
things for us for the little that we paid him. I also wondered if he, too, felt
betrayed by Rik, as Vince was very dedicated to Rik. Whatever Rik was running
from, he was leaving all those who really cared about him, including myself.
This would be a very interesting trip, and no doubt it would be uncomfortable
for everyone. We would call this the farewell to Rik tour.

The attitude of the band was dull. Instead of feeling
like the heavy weight champs of the world we all felt like a boxer who was under
trained. The sharpness and killer instinct were in the back of our minds. For
this tour to be a success spiritually, mentally and financially, the Lord would
have to step in and give us a hard push.

Troy seemed unmoved by all the disasters that had
recently occurred. His mind was preoccupied mainly on his house and getting it
finished up enough to either move in or sell it. Troy was so sedated that I was
beginning to feel that he had blocked all the recent events out of his mind and
had put on his rose colored glasses. Maybe he just held up under pressure better
than the rest of us, or maybe he was about to have a breakdown. If anything, I
figured that sooner or later exhaustion would get him and he would have to admit
that I had reason to worry; but, as of yet, he was steady as a rock.

Germany Again, Again

We flew from Louisville to Cincinnati on Delta airlines,
and from there straight to Frankfurt Germany. Our plane was delayed because of
electrical problems, but we landed safely. I had not enjoyed my previous trips
to Germany, and this one, with the delay of the plane for over an hour and then
the fact that I had to sit behind a couple from India who had not bathed in
weeks, made me wonder why I was going again. Sharon (my wife), Michelle (Troy's
wife) and Vince were on this trip.

Rik and Jerry joked about the fact that Rik was leaving
the band, and wanted to send out press releases that Rik's height had something
to do with his departure. They wanted to write that Rik had not quit growing,
and now he was as tall as a tree and had to move into the forest to live with
the Big Foot. They had talked about enlarging a photo of Rik and superimposing
it among the red woods. At the beginning of the trip I found it hard to even
look at him, feeling betrayed and let down by his sudden decision that he did
not even have the nerve to tell me himself.

We had not done a tour since the Stryper tour, and we
had only been playing weekends. This tour was not major by any stretch of the
imagination, but it would be the most shows we had played in a row in over two
years. We rested for a day in Darmstrdt at the Reuterhof Hotel, then it was off
to Witten, where we would play the first of several shows with the band Creed.
Creed was the premier German white metal band (not the now popular American rock
band).

We traveled in a rented RV that Andres (the promoter of
the tour) said would "sleep ten," but in reality would sleep maybe four, and
carry only 8 people. In Witten we played to 500 people in a nice room. In all
the years of playing, this would be my first big experience with hecklers. One
lone fanatic screaming from the audience put a damper on my message at the end
of the night. He was upset over statements I had made concerning secular music.
He was shouting obscenities against me and Jesus.

We had played a blistering set of old and new material,
and now, using a translator, I was trying to speak of the love of Jesus to the
crowd. The heckler was yelling things like, "You better not say anything against
Axl Rose," "I'll see you in hell," and stupid things like that. I replied by
fueling his anger, saying, "Axl Rose did not die on a cross for your sins, now
did he?" I soon closed my message and went out front to meet the people. As
usual, this heckler, who was all mouth while I was on stage, never approached
me.

However, a thin "hippie" looking rocker did, and said in
a drunken voice, "why don't you go to hell." Not being in the mood for anymore
of this, I threatened to throw the guy over the balcony. Even Troy and Jerry
were ready to fight. The guy wandered off into the crowd and stood with a group
of his buddies, and there were no more incidents this night.

Here are my thoughts on secular music.

A lost person who is listening to secular rock music has
tuned their interest or the radio channel in their head to a certain frequency
or sound. They identify with certain beats and sounds, and then the lyrical
content of the song is usually the last thing that they listen for. The lyrical
content comes from the heart of the performer. Once a person has determined what
they like to listen to, they normally will not stray too far from that
particular sound.

What comes out of a man is what he is. If people are
filling themselves with corruption, then out of his mouth his heart will speak
of corruption. These performers are very influential, and the corruption spreads
like a wildfire in the hearts of those who embrace it. Can a person take fire
against their chest and not be burned? A person who sings of Jesus and practices
what he preaches, who takes in the Word of God daily, will produce righteous
things from his mouth. Thus, the songs he sings will reflect God in him, and the
listener of righteousness will be exposed to the spirit of God, who is more than
capable of bringing salvation to the lost. It is important for those who play
Christian rock to get on the right frequency so that they can attract the
unrighteous to the truth.

For anyone to say that it is wrong to use Christian rock
to attract a secular rock audience to come to the knowledge of the Lord does not
know nature itself.

In order to catch fish you must use the right bait.
Sometimes it is possible to use a net, other times a worm is used. I have run
out of worms before, and I will use pieces of a sandwich that I have brought.
Like a moth is drawn to the light, so a certain audience is drawn to a specific
style of music. If rock music attracts an audience that the Christian has been
called to reach, I suggest we use wisdom and modern technology to bring them
into the kingdom by means of Christian rock concerts. Knowing that music is very
powerful and stirs emotion, it is important that the music stop somewhere in
order that the Word is preached to them.

Those who would oppose the use of rock music also
discredits any of the blessings attributed to the results. Let me pose a
question. I believe that God is Holy. I believe that He uses vessels of
righteousness, and that God is a spirit and those that worship Him must come
boldly to the throne of grace if they are going to be liberated. If a person is
saved at Christian rock show are they really saved? What kind of spirit does
rock music call? In the eyes of the opposition, those against the use of rock
music, everything associated with it is evil. So wouldn't the spirit that is
called be an evil spirit if it were not in communion with God? So the opponents
suggest that these people who come for salvation never receive it? How can the
work of Satan produce eternal life? Of course it cannot! I believe that the Holy
Spirit is far wiser than to work through evil means for the good of the gospel.
The Holy Spirit is not present where there is confusion; God is not the author
of confusion. So if a band were not honoring God then the Holy Spirit would not
be present. He would not self-inflict reproach. People do not become saved
unless the Spirit draws them because it is impossible to reach God through
Christ if we do not come by the Holy Spirit.

What is so different about Christian music than the
music of the world? We are supposed to be singing about God's love and salvation
through Christ, lifting Him up in spirit and in truth. When the world hears
Christian music there should not be any confusion over what that person is
listening to. The bible tells no longer walk and us we are to be different,
because we as Christians have been changed after the things of the flesh. The
world should recognize the difference because the music should be uplifting
Christ.

What comes out of the Christian musician's mouth should
be a far cry from what comes from the mouth of the world. We are to speak about
and sing those things which we receive from God, whereas the world is still
listening to the voice of the devil. I am against the promotion of Christian
artists alongside of New Age Music, Nature Music, Eastern Religious Music, etc.
for the very simple fact that the world wants you to believe that all of it
should be lumped in together as one big happy family. 2 Corinthians 6:14: "Do
not be yoked together (teamed with those, form a partnership) together with
unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?"

When people saw Jesus they saw Him as someone different
than the religious leaders of his day. They saw him not as a religious man, but
a Godly man. I believe to lump Christian music in with the secular is to remove
the importance of Christ. We have been set apart from the world by the Holy
Spirit. We are not to fellowship with the world, but to live the life of Christ
as examples to the world.

How can we be the light of the world if our light is
shinning alongside of music which promotes false doctrines? 2 Corinthians 6:14:
"what fellowship can light have with darkness?" There are those in the Christian
marketplace who would say that getting the Christian music into the hands of the
lost is a great way to witness. I totally agree, but there is so much
compromising going on that the Spirit of the Lord has been removed and replaced
by the face of a dead president on a piece of green paper. Maybe there are more
records being sold by Christian artists than ever before, but I am also seeing a
black cloud hanging over the youth of America, casting shadows of spiritual
darkness.

Christ did not compromise in order to fulfill His
purpose. He stood up and spoke boldly the truth. Those that received Him were
fewer than those who picked up rocks to stone him, but Jesus had backbone and
integrity. I would love for every lost headbanger in the world to have the
opportunity to pick up a Bride record, but if it is looked upon as just another
record to bang your head to then what purpose has it really served? I cannot
agree with the "sneak the Christian music in and maybe no one will notice that
it is Christian" tactics. I want the world to know that I am a Christian, and my
faith comes from God, and my life belongs to Him. I do not want anyone to ever
have to guess what my intentions are. 2 Corinthians 6:17: "Therefore come out
from them and be separate, says the Lord."

We left the following morning for Immenhausen 250 km
away. There was some discussion that two of our people would have to switch RV's
and ride in the Creed RV. No one volunteered, so for now we kept the same travel
arrangements.

In Immenhausen, we played a small club called Akku to
about 250 people. Although it was a small crowd the room was tight. After two
opening bands Creed went on, playing about an hour; then we took the stage. I
did not feel led to speak to the crowd this night. I was still bummed out about
the hecklers the night before, and I wanted to be able to go out and speak in a
good spirit as to not let my feelings get in the way. It seemed as though
everyone was drinking and I did not want to throw the pearls before swine
(Matt.7:6).

That night we stayed in a private home, which we never
do. There is usually always problems, but this house was big and, other than the
lack of heat, it was comfortable. The next day it was the Hamburg show. After a
4 hour drive through changing weather we arrived at the 300-person club called
Logo. It was dark like CB-GB's in NYC, but the sound system was huge.

My throat was very scratchy because of the insane
weather, and when I was having vocal problems I was very irritable and cranky.
Normally I could sing for hours at a time, but this cold weather, coupled with
no heat when we slept, was misery. My voice, however, as in the past, came back
to full force, and we rocked a packed house who were right in our faces all
night. This had to be the single hottest show I had ever done. I never remember
pouring out so much sweat in one night.

Monday 21st we would be traveling 6 hours. This would be
a no show day. We were scheduled for a t.v. appearance that morning before the
drive. This would prove to be very interesting. No one had informed use that the
producer of the show wanted us to panamime to the song I Miss The Rain. We
thought it was going to be an interview only.

Rik and Jerry, in fear of being forced to do something
that they would be embarrassed by, decided not to budge out of the RV. Troy and
I, always taking the heat of the action, went into the studio to discuss
different possibilities. The producer was very closed minded and much like
Hitler in his dictator style. After a 30-minute argument we were allowed to do
an interview. A very pretty blonde female sat in between Troy and I and asked us
questions for about 20 minutes. The producer was angry and very upset over the
panamime but he had to deal with it.

We spent the night in Darmstadt, which is about 40
minutes out of Frankfurt. The next day we decided to do a little shopping. Troy
was downing alka seltzer as he felt the flu coming on. That night we were to
play a club called Negativ. It was the smallest club we had ever played. It was
smelly, dirty and I was afraid to touch anything. Lightmare and Creed were the
opening acts. I decided to lead an assault on our dressing room out of boredom,
smashing apples and yogurt on the walls. "This is what rock & roll people do."
Now that I am older, we do not give ourselves over to such shenanigans.

Jerry even went as far as breaking an overhead light
with his drumstick. Andres just shook his head. I think he had expected this
behavior from us. 150 teenagers squeezed into the tiny room. Into the 3rd song
of the set, Hired Gun, my monitors went off.

In these days I was merciless to sound people and
monitor folks, and I threw my water bottle against the cave-like wall in total
disgust, and then pounded Jerry's cymbals relentlessly with my fist. No one came
to my rescue, so I left the stage and refused to play until they were turned
back on. Vince and the soundman worked feverishly to get the monitors back on,
and after a 5-minute delay we were back into the set as happy as June bugs. One
must remember that the band at this time was stressed, exhausted, not focused
and really did not want to be in Germany at this time. Overall the night went
average, and we were happy to get out of that hole.

We went back to Darmstadt to Petra's father hotel, which
was more like an apartment. (Petra was a German girl who had been an exchange
student to the U.S. Her father owned hotels and she spoke excellent English.)
After a good night of sleep we ate the famous German breakfast of sandwich meat
and bread as hard as bricks; then it was on the road to Boblingen. This would be
an unplugged show at a Baptist church in Gartrigen.

Andres got word from home that his wife, who was
pregnant, was ill, but it was nothing serious. This day we could tell that his
mind was preoccupied. This show drew only about 120 people, who sat on the floor
the entire show like some 60's love-in. I was supplied a translator and spoke in
detail of the death and resurrection of Jesus. I talked more this night than any
of the other shows.

The next morning it was an adventurous trip to Bern
Switzerland. Because of laws prohibiting more than 6 people to an RV, Sharon and
Vince would ride a short distance with Creed. Andres said that he had never had
trouble getting bands across the border, but then again he had never traveled
with Bride. We were stopped at the border, strip searched with the exception of
the girls, fined, taxed, and delayed almost two hours. The fine for not
reporting merchandise and the taxes on it were about 750 marks.

We were soon released, and we all got a good laugh. Not
far into Switzerland, we saw what appeared to be low clouds. But they turned out
to be the Swiss Alps. It reminded me of when we had played D.C. on the Stryper
tour. Going into Washington, seeing all of the white buildings was very
majestic. But the Alps were God's handy work, which seemed a bit more
impressive.

Driving on the Autobahn n1, the Alps followed us on
every turn. Of all the places in the world, Troy said that he thought he could
live here. The show in Bern was a little late getting started, but the 700 fans
did not mind. They rocked as hard as the German audience, and even had an
incredible mosh pit. We played this night with Desert Voice and Creed.

Going back into Germany was no problem for the RV's.
However, our p.a. was stopped and detained by the German border guards because
it was too heavy for the truck that was carrying it. Another truck was sent back
to the border to retrieve it. We made a stop in Fribourg, a small German town
with lots of old churches and buildings. Sharon was on a hunt for a real cuckoo
clock, and we were very close to the Black Forest where they made them.
Unfortunately all of the clocks were too expensive.

We did get to visit a magnificent old church that dated
back to 1200 AD. The church had huge stained glass windows and two towering pipe
organs, one at each end of the church. The weather was still changing, and a
warm front had moved in. Jerry was now the only one who was sick. He would get
worse before getting better.

He also received a disturbing telephone call on Andre's
car phone that his son, Jacob, was ill with a massive sinus infection, but it
was not anything too serious. Seemed like we all were fighting illness and there
was some force at hand trying to shut down the tour, but we pushed on. After a
ride at Alpha Romeo speeds through the Black forest we came to a halt. For
twenty minutes we were delayed by a herd of sheep being driven down the main
highway. The flock numbered about 300 and blocked both lanes of traffic.

The show in Freudenstadt was excellent. Rik broke his
2nd bass string of the tour. On the song Under the Influence the e string
snapped, and Rik went ballistic. He threw the bass from his shoulder to the
ground, then stomped on it a couple of times. I was wondering if it would hold
the weight of his size 12-shoe coming down on it, and it did. The crowd of 650
looked amazed and a little scared at this true western behavior. Rik received
another bass, and the show rolled on.

After an encore where we played Troubled Times, Murder,
and Hell No, I addressed the audience, who would rather hear the music. After
about a 10-minute message to a restless crowd it was to the T-shirt table to
sign photos and other merchandise. The crowd was very heavy, and Troy and I had
the brace the table with our thighs as the crowd pressed us heavy. I thought we
might be pushed through the wall behind us. It made me sign things much quicker.

That night we stayed in a guesthouse a couple of minutes
from the hall. After a much-needed sleep, we left the next morning for Owen/Teck.
This was a festival featured The Electric's, Ken Tamplin and a couple of other
bands. We were headlining, but when I found out that we would not go on until
around one in the morning I told Andres to switch our time slot with Tamplin,
who was suppose to go on before us. This was no problem and I was much happier.

The stage was enormous, and hundreds of lights draped
over the stage. Harry and Connie, our overseas crew supplied by Andres, would
not be working the show because a crew had been supplied. Connie would work the
Creed show a few miles away. Harry would hang with us and take photos of the
band.

Close to 2000 people jammed into the hall. Many people
were turned away. The show Started with me having trouble with a broken mic
stand that was given me. I trashed it right away and rendered is useless. I
relentlessly abused the stand throughout the show. The crowd seemed a little
tired from the other bands and the fact that everything was running an hour
behind.

This was Rik's last full-blown show with us and he was
rocking hard. Our encore included Hell No, a song on which Jerry, who was very
ill and medicated, had to push himself hard to make it through. The last tune
was Troubled Times, and Rik bid an explosive farewell to the band's live
performance as he smashed his bass against the stage at the end of the song. I
began slamming the already broken mic stand as Troy debated maybe cutting his
strings off his guitar, but would never want to damage that Gretsch.

The monitor man and the few timid in the crowd watched
in horror, as if they were witnessing a murder as we finished off the set. Rik's
bass lay in hundreds of pieces, some splintered into tooth picks. The headstock
was never found. My mic stand, which had not served me well, was now twisted
like a pretzel. The crowd here had witness an end to a Bride era, and I do not
think they understood any of our actions. After the show, a handful of people
among the masses questioned our decision to destroy our gear. I tried to explain
to them we did it out of fun and to bid a real farewell to Rik, but not many of
these people were willing to understand.

The last show of the tour would be an unplugged set
where we would rejoin Creed. My voice was burnt after the night before, so we
were going to just try and have some fun. We had visited a couple more old
churches that day, as well as a castle on a hill. We had all run down the hill,
and now my legs were aching. I was glad that this would be a sit down show.

This show was in Wurzburg, where we stayed at the hotel
Zum Winzermannle. Our very last show with Rik was to about 120 teens in the
upstairs room of a Christian bookstore. This would turn out to be one of the
best shows of the tour. We ended the set with a new song called Time, which was
very fitting since Rik's time with us had now ended. Late that evening, we all
went to an Italian restaurant where the crew, Creed and Bride enjoyed some
fellowship and celebrated the end of the tour.

The next morning we said farewell to Rik, leaving him
back at the hotel as he waited on a ride to the train station where he would
travel to Italy. He had always been a loner, and now he was all alone. As we
drove I heard Andres make a comment about the tour. He said, "It is over." I
mumbled it under my breath as a final goodbye to a friend and a musical partner.
Rik had always wanted to understand God. I remember, when he had joined the
band, I had given him a Living Bible so that it might be easier for him to
understand the scriptures.

He had the knowledge in his head after all of these
years, but I never felt like he really let it into his heart. He had seen so
much negativity and so many contradictions in the lives of other Christians. I
feel like he quit because he did not want to be labeled a hypocrite. There were
several "Christian Bands" who publicly had stated that they drank beer, and that
had not been a good witness for him. Rik was gone, and now it was time to Start
over again.